Michael Lerner

Michael Lerner (1943-) was the rabbi of the Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley, California and the editor of the progressive Jewish interfaith magazine Tikkun.

Biography
Michael Lerner was born in 1943 in the Weequahic neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, and he attended the University of California at Berkeley. Lerner was a leader of the Free Speech Movement, and he created the anti-war Seattle Liberation Front in 1970 to protest against the Vietnam War. Later, he became a professor of philosophy at Trinity College in Connecticut, and in 1995 he became a rabbi, promoting the concept of Jewish Renewal, and he sought to build bridges with Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Lerner was opposed to the occupation of the West Bank by Israel and supported a Two-State Solution, and he was a relentless critic of Israel, eulogizing Rachel Corrie after she was killed by the Israel Defense Forces. Lerner later became the rabbi of the Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley, and he edited the interfaith and progressive magazine Tikkun, promoting good relations between reigions.